1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to connectors for under water environments, and more particularly, to deep water fiber optic or electro optical hybrid connectors.
2. Description of Related Art
Current wet mate electrical connector and cable technology utilizes ruggedized CAT5 or 6 cables and electrical wet mate connectors of proven design. Unfortunately, CAT 5 or 6 cables are limited in their effective signal communication length to about 100 meters. Additionally, electrical twisted pair cables used in CAT 5 and 6 cables are heavy and bulky and transmitted signals are susceptible to electrical interference. Conversely, fiber optic cables that can be used as an alternative to electrical cables for better signal transmission integrity and for longer transmission distances do not have comparatively low cost fiber optic connector interfaces for reliable low loss and repeatable wet mate connection in adverse submerged environments. All of these attributes are undesirable for a wet mate environment, especially at deep water depths for the reliable low cost transmission of high data rate signals over long distances where repeated mating and unmating of connectors subsea may occur.
Accordingly, there is a need for a deep water connector system that provides the benefits of fiber optic cables for increased transmission distances via the attached cables. Additionally, there exists a need for deep water connector cables which are lighter, less bulky, and more flexible. There also exists a need to combine the benefits of fiber optic subsea cable transmission with the benefits of proven electrical subsea wet mate connector interfaces.